[BREAKING]Impeachment: Rivers Chief Judge Refuses To Set Up 7-Man Panel To Probe Fubara

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined a request to set up a 7-man judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara, citing a court order barring him from taking up the action.

The Rivers State House of Assembly had asked the Chief Judge of the state to constitute a panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct levelled against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu.

The lawmakers requested through a unanimous vote, insisting that the impeachment process would proceed despite what they described as attempts by the governor to intimidate and blackmail the legislature.

Following the Assembly’s request, the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt issued an interim order preventing the Chief Judge of Rivers State from accepting an impeachment notice directed at Governor Fubara and his Deputy, Odu.

However, in a letter dated January 20 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, the chief judge cited two court orders barring him from receiving, forwarding, or considering any requests to form such a panel.

The judge reiterated that the orders were served on his office on January 16, 2026 and remain absolute.

The chief judge explained that constitutionalism and the rule of law are the bedrock of democracy, stressing the importance of all authorities to obey subsisting court orders.

Amadi urges the parties involved to obey the interim injunction until it is set aside or the suit is finally determined, irrespective of their perception of the orders’ validity.

He referenced legal precedents, citing a similar case in 2007, narrating how the Chief Judge of Kwara State was condemned for ignoring a restraining court order when setting up an investigative panel, a decision later voided by the Court of Appeal.

Justice Amadi further observed that the Speaker has already filed an appeal against the court orders at the Court of Appeal, adding another layer to the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the allegations.

“By the doctrine of ‘lis pendens’, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal,” he said.

Justice Amadi further stated that the existence of the injunctions and the pending appeal had effectively tied his hands.

“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and appeal against the said orders. I am therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in the instant,” he said.

The chief judge appealed to the lawmakers to recognise the legal constraints surrounding the matter.

Justice Amadi, therefore, urged the state assembly to be “magnanimous enough to appreciate the legal position of the matter.”